Alien Eraser Reveals the Secrets of Evolution

Evolution is among the most central and most contested of ideas in the history of anthropology. This book charts the fortunes of the idea from the mid-nineteenth century to recent times. By comparing

Evolution is among the most central and most contested of ideas in the history of anthropology. This book charts the fortunes of the idea from the mid-nineteenth century to recent times. By comparing

Coasts are some of the most rapidly changing places on earth. Understanding the natural adjustments that occur between coastal landforms and the processes that influence them is essential for the better management of coastal resources. Coasts provides a necessary background in geomorphology for those studying coastal systems. It describes the landforms that occur on the coast, their responses to the processes that shape them, and the pattern of evolution that can be determined for different types of coast over thousands of years. Numerous examples from around the world are used to illustrate the variety of environments. Particular attention is paid to coastal morphodynamics, the co-adjustment of process and form, on rocky, reef, sandy, deltaic-estuarine and muddy coasts. This valuable text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students is well illustrated and contains an extensive reference section. It will also be of great interest to environmental scientists, geologists, coastal ma

Seedlings are highly sensitive to their environment. After seeds, they typically suffer the highest mortality of any life history stage. This book provides a comprehensive exploration of the seedling stage of the plant life cycle. It considers the importance of seedlings in plant communities; environmental factors with special impact on seedlings; the morphological and physiological diversity of seedlings including mycorrhizae; the relationship of the seedling with other life stages; seedling evolution; and seedlings in human altered ecosystems, including deserts, tropical rainforests, and habitat restoration projects. The diversity of seedlings is portrayed by including specialised groups like orchids, bromeliads, and parasitic and carnivorous plants. Discussions of physiology, morphology, evolution and ecology are brought together to focus on how and why seedlings are successful. This important text sets the stage for future research and is valuable to graduate students and research

Biologists since Darwin have been intrigued and confounded by the complex issues involved in the evolution and ecology of the social behavior of insects. The self-sacrifice of sterile workers in ant c

In relation to the origin and spread of grasses, domestication is a recent event confined to about the last ten thousand years and to relatively few grasses. Part I of Grass Evolution and Domestication considers, from an evolutionary point of view, grass taxonomy, the origin and diversification of C4 photosynthesis, S-Z self-incompatibility and apomixis. It also includes a discussion of how the grass inflorescence and the spikelet could have originated. In Part II the origins of domestication are explored, both for cereals and for grasses which have latterly come to have either amenity or ecological significance. For the major cereals, domestication now involves not only classical plant breeding but also the application of molecular techniques to obtain new varieties with desirable characteristics. The world's three most important cereals, wheat, maize and rice, are therefore presented as model systems in an attempt to explore the interaction of plant breeding, cytogenetics and molecul

The names given to the variety of man-like fossils known to scientists should reflect no more than scientific views of the nature of human evolution. However, often in the past these names have also r

Originally published in 1915, this book provides a detailed discussion of the relationship between metaphysics and material reality, arguing for a reconciliation between Christian theology and evolutionary theory. The main premise of the text is that there can be no strict division between the soul and the corporeal aspects of human life; the human being is viewed 'as a soul closely tied to a mechanism.' Nonetheless, this closely intertwined relationship is one in which the metaphysical aspect of existence is regarded as the fundamental driving force, and biological evolution is subordinated to spiritual progress. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in theology, philosophy and theories of evolution.

Microbes produce an extraordinary array of defense systems. This book tells the fascinating story about the evolutionary histories of bacteriocins and the ecological roles of these biological weapons

Professor Levins, one of the leading explorers in the field of integrated population biology, considers the mutual interpenetration and joint evolution of organism and environment, occurring on severa

Our understanding of microevolution and the evolutionary history of the flowering plants has been transformed by the use of molecular techniques. This new edition reviews recent progress in its histor

Our understanding of microevolution and the evolutionary history of the flowering plants has been transformed by the use of molecular techniques. This new edition reviews recent progress in its histor

Differential evolution is arguably one of the hottest topics in today's computational intelligence research. This book seeks to present a comprehensive study of the state of the art in this technology

This self-contained astrophysics textbook for advanced undergraduates explores how stars form, what happens to them as they age, and what becomes of them when they die. Students can investigate the physical processes sustaining the energy output of stars during each stage of their evolution and which drive the progression from one stage to the next, and examine the relationship between different stages of stellar evolution and the production of the chemical elements. The textbook contains a wealth of worked examples and exercises with full solutions. Summaries, key facts and equations are clearly identified, and there are full colour illustrations throughout. Drawing on decades of experience in supported learning and independent study, this textbook is an ideal bridging text for astrophysics and physics majors looking to move on from the introductory texts. Accompanying resources to this textbook are available at: http://www.cambridge.org/features/astrophysics.

This self-contained astrophysics textbook for advanced undergraduates explores how stars form, what happens to them as they age, and what becomes of them when they die. Students can investigate the physical processes sustaining the energy output of stars during each stage of their evolution and which drive the progression from one stage to the next, and examine the relationship between different stages of stellar evolution and the production of the chemical elements. The textbook contains a wealth of worked examples and exercises with full solutions. Summaries, key facts and equations are clearly identified, and there are full colour illustrations throughout. Drawing on decades of experience in supported learning and independent study, this textbook is an ideal bridging text for astrophysics and physics majors looking to move on from the introductory texts. Accompanying resources to this textbook are available at: http://www.cambridge.org/features/astrophysics.

Respiration is one of the most basic motor activities crucial for survival of the individual. It is under total control of the central nervous system, which adjusts respiratory depth and frequency dep

In this book, author Dan Graur presents readers with a comprehensive examination of the evolution of life on earth from a molecular and genetic perspective. The author covers the molecular basis of bi

The artists of the show have worked for many years in the context of the natural sciences, research, and ecology. For the Hildesheim exhibition they have taken up topics from the museum's geological c

What determines the direction of evolutionary change? This book provides a revolutionary answer to this question. Many biologists, from Darwin's day to our own, have been satisfied with the answer 'natural selection'. Professor Wallace Arthur is not. He takes the controversial view that biases in the ways that embryos can be altered are just as important as natural selection in determining the directions that evolution has taken, including the one that led to the origin of humans. This argument forms the core of the book. However, in addition, the book summarizes other important issues relating to how embryonic (and post-embryonic) development evolves. Written in an easy, conversational style, this is the first book for students and the general reader that provides an account of the exciting new field of Evolutionary Developmental Biology ('Evo-Devo' to its proponents).

What determines the direction of evolutionary change? This book provides a revolutionary answer to this question. Many biologists, from Darwin's day to our own, have been satisfied with the answer 'natural selection'. Professor Wallace Arthur is not. He takes the controversial view that biases in the ways that embryos can be altered are just as important as natural selection in determining the directions that evolution has taken, including the one that led to the origin of humans. This argument forms the core of the book. However, in addition, the book summarizes other important issues relating to how embryonic (and post-embryonic) development evolves. Written in an easy, conversational style, this is the first book for students and the general reader that provides an account of the exciting new field of Evolutionary Developmental Biology ('Evo-Devo' to its proponents).

Even before the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species, the perception of evolutionary change has been a tree-like pattern of diversification - with divergent branches spreading further and further

Primate and Human Evolution provides a synthesis of the evolution and adaptive significance of human anatomical, physiological and behavioral traits. Using paleontology and modern human variation and biology, it compares hominid traits to those of other catarrhine primates both living and extinct, presenting a new hominization model that does not depend solely on global climate change, but on predictable trends observed in catarrhines. Dealing with the origins of hominid tool use and tool manufacture, it compares tool behavior in other animals and incorporates information from the earliest archaeological record. Examining the use of non-human primates and other mammals in modeling the origins of early human social behavior, Susan Cachel argues that human intelligence does not arise from complex social interactions, but from attentiveness to the natural world. This book will be a rich source of inspiration for all those interested in the evolution of all primates, including ourselves.

An accessible guide to a key scientific concept explores the origins and impact of Darwin's theory of evolution, from the first attempts to date fossils to the modern-day mapping and coding of DNA usi

In a book that has become a milestone of scientific writing Dr. Blum uses "time's arrow," the second law of thermodynamics, as a key concept to show how the nature and evolution of the nonli

Based on the 25th Anniversary Symposium of the Jean Piaget Society, this book represents cutting-edge work on the mechanisms of cognitive, social, and cultural development. The authors-anthropologists

Culture and cognition work together dynamically every time a spectator interprets meaning during a performance. In this study, Bruce McConachie examines the biocultural basis of all performance, from its origins and the cognitive processes that facilitate it, to what keeps us coming back for more. To effect this major reorientation, McConachie works within the scientific paradigm of enaction, which explains all human activities, including performances, as the interactions of mental, bodily, and ecological networks. He goes on to use our biocultural proclivity for altruism, as revealed in performance, to explore our species' gradual ethical progress on such matters as the changing norms of religious sacrifice, slavery, and LGBT rights. Along the way, the book engages with a wide range of performances, including Richard Pryor's stand-up, the film Titanic, aerialist performances, American football, and the stage and film versions of A Streetcar Named Desire.

This book emerged from a series of lectures on crop evolution at the Faculty of Agriculture of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. While many textbooks are available on general evolution, only a few d

"Analyses and rejects the assumptions and consequences of the doctrine of theistic evolution."--previous ed.

With Trilobite, Richard Fortey, paleontologist and author of the acclaimed Life, offers a marvelously written, smart and compelling, accessible and witty scientific narrative of the most ubiquitous of

Commerce, Complexity, and Evolution is a significant contribution to the paradigm - straddling economics, finance, marketing, and management - which acknowledges that commercial systems are evolutionary, and must therefore be analysed using evolutionary tools. Evolutionary systems display complicated behaviours which are to a significant degree generated endogenously, rather than being solely the product of exogenous shocks, hence the conjunction of complexity with evolution. This volume considers a wide range of systems, from the entire economy at one extreme to the behaviour of single markets at the other. The papers are united by methodologies which at their core are evolutionary, though the techniques cover a wide range, from philosophical discourse to differential equations, genetic algorithms, multi-agent simulations and cellular automata. Issues considered include the dynamics of debt-deflation, stock management in a complex environment, interactions between consumers and its ef

Commerce, Complexity, and Evolution is a significant contribution to the paradigm - straddling economics, finance, marketing, and management - which acknowledges that commercial systems are evolutionary, and must therefore be analysed using evolutionary tools. Evolutionary systems display complicated behaviours which are to a significant degree generated endogenously, rather than being solely the product of exogenous shocks, hence the conjunction of complexity with evolution. This volume considers a wide range of systems, from the entire economy at one extreme to the behaviour of single markets at the other. The papers are united by methodologies which at their core are evolutionary, though the techniques cover a wide range, from philosophical discourse to differential equations, genetic algorithms, multi-agent simulations and cellular automata. Issues considered include the dynamics of debt-deflation, stock management in a complex environment, interactions between consumers and its ef

For many years John Fleagle's text on the adaptation and evolution of primates and early hominoid fossils was the the text of choice for teachers and research workers alike. Now, as the only such wor

The evolution in the form and structure of galaxies which has taken place since the universe was in its infancy is one of the most closely studied by astrophysicists and cosmologists today. It has pro

Plant genetics is the study of the evolution and heredity of plants. Plant genetics follows two major procedures - gene gun method and the agrobacterium method. Crop yields have significantly altered

Point-to-point vs hub-and-spoke. Questions of network design are real and involve many billions of dollars. Yet little is known about optimising design - nearly all work concerns optimising flow assuming a given design. This foundational book tackles optimisation of network structure itself, deriving comprehensible and realistic design principles. With fixed material cost rates, a natural class of models implies the optimality of direct source-destination connections, but considerations of variable load and environmental intrusion then enforce trunking in the optimal design, producing an arterial or hierarchical net. Its determination requires a continuum formulation, which can however be simplified once a discrete structure begins to emerge. Connections are made with the masterly work of Bendsøe and Sigmund on optimal mechanical structures and also with neural, processing and communication networks, including those of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Technical appendices are provi

Biogeography studies the distribution of species and ecosystems in different parts of the world. It can be further divided into paleobiogeography, systematic biogeography and evolutionary biogeography

Information Theory and Evolution discusses the phenomenon of life, including its origin and evolution (and also human cultural evolution), against the background of thermodynamics, statistical mechani

Information Theory and Evolution discusses the phenomenon of life, including its origin and evolution (and also human cultural evolution), against the background of thermodynamics, statistical mechani

Evolutionary thinking has expanded in the last decades, spreading from its traditional stronghold – the explanation of speciation and adaptation in biology - to new domains. Fascinating pieces of work

Challenges the popular "Eve" theory of human origins, presenting the controversial "multiregional" model of human evolution and racial differences that finds evidence in fossil remains. 17,500 first p